The Existencial
by Adelphus
Summary: Lee Jordan is back at ACME after faking his way out of prison under the guise of a changed man, but as he sets up his plans for the future, he trips over someone connected to his past.


Disclaimer: I don't own Lee, or Acme, or Carmen, or any of that, because if i did, there would be ACTION FIGURES, DAMMIT! I _do_ own Kidman, and therefore she does have her own action figure.

K, all. I wrote this many years ago from my Carmen universe. Cheers to aptasi and Greenlion for encouraging me to post some stuff. This here is a Lee fic, but it also gives a good glimpse of Kidman, one of my OCs. Mary Sue? Maybe, but I am weird, so so is my Mary Sue.

Cheers!

** * The Existential * **

The First Encounter

May 1996

Acme Detective Agency

San Francisco.

"You're kidding! No, you're not kidding, you're insane! I'm sorry, Chief, but no way, no how am I letting that dirt bag work here again. He spent two years in jail. He tried to kill us, for crying out loud! Why would you hire him again? Is there something I'm missing here?"

"Now Ivy, if you'll just calm down-"

"Calm down? Calm down? Chief do you have any idea what you are doing?"

"Well I should, I am the chief."

"Then tell me. _Why_ are we doing this?"

"Because he's reformed! He's a changed man!"

"He's Lee Jordan!"

"Oh will you just give him a chance?" Then he added in a whisper, "We _need_ him!"

"That's right! I forgot. And you'll also let Carmen Sandiego waltz back in here if she wanted to "reform" too! She's a thief to the core and that is it! Do think Lee will be any different? He's more a criminal than she is! In case you're forgetting, we have some precious cargo aboard the S.S. Acme, and that's Kidman. It was hard enough getting Carmen to let us watch her instead of letting her hang around VILE. We're supposed to be protecting her! Do you think that Lee could resist attacking her seeing as she is Carmen's _kid_?"

"He'll leave her alone."

"Of course he will! No one's getting near Kidman now that I'm on patrol!"

Zack chose that moment to break into the conversation.

'Oh no. All I need is for Zack and Lee to be at each other's throats over Kidman, and if I know Kidman, she'll probably be oblivious to the whole thing.' Ivy thought.

She knew well that Zack had a crush on her, but the girl had made it obvious that she only wanted him as a friend. Zack wasn't taking the hints. It was too late to stop him now, for now Zack had switched over into his commando personality.

"When's he coming? I can have the Zack2000 up in...two days tops! We'll barricade the doors! We'll set up a schedule so that they never even see each other! Then we could-"

"He's coming tomorrow, and no you can't set up that THING because Kidman would never stand for it." the Chief said.

"But then he can just-"

"Kidman can take care of herself."

"But Chief-", they started in unison.

"Final!"

* * *

*.*.*.*.*

'This is a black day. I'd prefer Carmen over him about 10 times over...make that 5 times.' Ivy thought as she watched Lee walk into the main room.

Lee didn't really know what to make of all this. He had finally paid his debt to society, wasting two years in the state prison, literally fighting for respect. Being thin was not necessarily a good thing when it comes to casting an ominous impression. He had learned to act like someone bigger than he was, and had acted like a "changed man" when the guards were around so to get out sooner on good behavior. Now he was acting grateful for being returned to this God Forsaken place. Lee sighed. It got him out early, that's all he cared about, and could perhaps wreak some "innocent" havoc on a few friends.

He looked at Ivy, who was in the process of burning holes in the back of his head, and gave her a sickeningly sweet grin that thinly disguised the malice beneath. He'd just have to take things as they came.

Lee had been at Acme for about a week before he learned of Kidman and what she was. He hadn't seen the girl yet, but assumed anyone fanatical enough to follow Sandiego through the fires of hell deserved to be tormented in the worst way possible. After a bit of searching and arm-twisting, he finally found Kidman's room, a modified broom closet. Within, he found what he was looking for; a handcrafted doll of Sandiego.

"Let's have some fun, shall we?"

He didn't want to destroy it just yet, so made a noose out of the window shade cord and slipped the doll's head through. Lee stepped back to admire his work.

"Ahhh. That's the way it should be."

And left.

* * *

*.*.*.*.*

Kidman decided she would not give the stranger the satisfaction of seeing how deeply the action disturbed her. Not until she could be sure what he was and what he was capable of becoming. She also decided not to tell anyone of the incident until, or if, she found the information to her advantage. Instead, she would silently observe this rough mannered man and see if there was more than what met the eye.

She was insatiably curious as to what went on in the minds of those who had been deemed "bad" and found the risk it put her in as irrelevant in the scheme of things. Death was far too familiar a presence, and the sweet melancholy of surrender that came with touching the void gave her a rush that nothing else did.

That was what worried Ivy most of all. Lee would undoubtedly target the girl, and the girl would undoubtedly allow it. It would take a 24-hour watch to keep Kidman away from him, and the agency just didn't have the resources to confine the little walk-through-walls escape artist. She knew that even as she thought, Kidman was probably following Lee, maybe even conversing with him.

In fact, Kidman was watching the man now.

The man ignored her, though very aware of her presence. He wanted Zack to leave so that he could have some peace. So did Kidman. Zack was once more flirting with her, telling her about the futures in computer data processing, the rise in stocks, his share of the glory. Kidman liked him well enough, but the relationship ended there.

To Zack, Kidman was the bad-girl fairy-child that he, the Prince of Goodness, would sweep off to better life and they would live happy ever after. Kidman, on the other hand, only planned a few months in advance, painfully aware how short her life was likely to be. Life was what she could of interest in the now.

She sat and smiled gently at Zack, but kept her real focus on the thin muscular frame in the leather jacket hunched over the racing form.

'A gambler.' she thought absently.

"As I was saying, when those Pentium 150s come out, whoa, look out! It's going to be faster than the speed of light, I'll tell ya that!"

"Zack..."

"And another thing. You know how I went to that show last Thursday?"

"Zack, I..."

Kidman knew he couldn't hear her. She rarely spoke, so her rusty vocal chords turned her words into airy whispers.

"Man was it great! I mean, all those systems. I was in heaven!"

"Please, Zack..."

Lee had gotten tired of this. Zack had been chattering for well over forty-five minutes, and he really, _really_ wanted to get back to his hacking operation before the system checked itself again. He wasn't really "hacking" per say, but was nosing around in places he shouldn't, looking for leads on new, far more illicit operations he could get his hands into.

He threw his paper down on the table with a thud.

"Do you _mind_? She doesn't want to talk to you. F*ck off!"

Zack was stunned.

"Hey...you shut up, Jordan!"

"I don't waste my time talking to underlings."

"And as for her, she's mine!"

It was Kidman's turn to look surprised.

"Well good for you! Some of us are trying to accomplish something here."

"I'll get you out of here somehow, Lee! You wait and see!"

Zack looked like he was going to cry for a moment, but recomposed.

"Come on, we don't need this."

Zack pulled Kidman up by the wrist and the girl could only look back at Lee, a hulking mass of something of more powerful stock, drawing her in, as she was dragged helplessly from the room.

* * *

*.*.*.*.*

She returned fifteen minutes later after giving Zack the slip when he started up his story again with the Chief and the desk clerk as audience. She silently relocated herself in the same spot she had been before and resumed her observation.

Lee was unaware of her return, far too busy with his own underhanded work.

"Canaconni. Italian mob. Hmmmm. Sounds good. Letsee what else..." Lee mumbled to himself. He looked over his shoulder for a piece of paper to write on, narrowly missing the girl.

Kidman thrilled. The suspense was ecstasy to her, the moments passing with blissful eternity. What Lee would do when he saw her, she could only guess, and she liked it.

Lee slowly realized that someone was watching him and suddenly whirled around, looking Kidman full in the face.

"What are you doing back here? Aren't you Zack's little pet?"

"No one owns me here."

"Nice to know. How much have you seen? "

"Nothing I haven't seen before."

This answer didn't exactly satisfy Lee. He walked over slowly to where the child sat and towered over her with his trademark smirk. Then he brought his hands down on either armrest of her chair and brought his face inches from hers.

"You little spy. Trying to get rid of me?"

Kidman maintained her ever-present state of calm interest, but inside she reeled with excitement.

"Why would I want that?" she replied in a cool, soft whisper.

For reasons he didn't understand, Lee didn't feel threatened by her. She was a weird little thing; pale, almost sickly so, with short, white-blond hair that stuck out in strange angles. Hints of scars crisscrossed her face and her grey eyes watched him with absent wonder. Her detached manner was a little odd, but it was a welcome change from what he had been receiving from everyone else here.

'Come to think of it, I've never seen you before. You aren't listed in the roster…'

Lee decided to add the child to the small collection of things he found worth thinking about where the agency was concerned.

"You sit here now."

He put the swivel chair and its cargo in between himself and the screen, then leaned over and put his hands over either side onto the control bar in front of it, trapping her there. "Want to see what I'm doing? Then you will, but if I find that anybody knows because of you, I'll kill you."

"Fair deal."

"I will kill you."

"As it should be."

Lee looked down on the top of her head. No fear in that face.

"With a gun. You sure you want to stick around?"

"I don't appear to have much choice."

"I'll let you go."

Kidman sat quiet for a minute. "Permission to stay?"

"Granted, on your own life."

"It won't be missed."

Lee shot a quick glance at her. No change in her expression. He pondered her response for a moment, then continued on his business, pressing the chair and its captive closer into the control bar, catching Kidman across the midriff and trapping her completely.

She was quite happy.

After a few moments she deduced his actions.

"Hitman?"

"Breath a word..."

"You will be owned by the mob."

"No one owns me."

"The mob will. They own everyone they touch."

"They won't touch me."

"They'll kill you."

'Good point' thought Lee.

"Moving on..." Lee clicked a few keys. Kidman glanced at the new screen.

"You can do better."

"Wha..?"

"Drug smugglers? You'll be a lackey."

"What's it to you?"

"Wasted talent is a terrible thing."

Lee sighed and pushed a few more commands. V.I.L.E showed up. Kidman looked mildly surprised.

"They didn't update this file."

"What?"

"It's not V.I.L.E. It hasn't been for five months. It's the INL."

"Why?"

"No Villains, no Evil. All INternational unLimited."

"And how would _you _know that?"

"I have ties."

"No way in hell I'd go back there. Mother f*cking Sandiego!"

"That is an interesting concept." Said Kidman, still not at home with English slang and idioms. "F*ck" she found most perplexing. It acted as a noun, a verb, and adjective and that made understanding the use of the word impossible for her overly logical mind.

"Mother f*cker?"

"Carmen isn't homosexual."

Lee looked at her face. She was dead serious. He let forth a roaring laugh. "Are you sure about that?"

"Quite."

Lee sighed a long sigh.

"Whoever you are, you're hysterical. No, I mean I hate the bitch. Black-listed me out of a lot work, got me creamed in prison."

"I am aware that you are not on good terms with her. I ask you then, why would you consider a job with the mob?"

"Why not?"

"They adore her."

"Hell no."

"Why yes..."

"Crap."

Lee punched another handful of keys.

"Lee..."

'The hell with this. At the rate I'm going, I might as well go freelance.' Lee thought, 'But I don't think I'm ready for that yet.'

"Guess I'm still stuck here in this cesspool." Lee muttered.

He pulled out of the files and returned to the main menu.

"Lets see what dirt I can pull up on our little detective friends..."

Lee was almost completely hunched over Kidman's shoulder and she couldn't believe her luck at getting this close so quickly. She could feel his hot breath ruffle her hair and his leather jacket up against the back of her neck. His necklace bumped into the back of her head from time to time and once felt the firm lump of an automatic weapon concealed in his jacket lining press up against her back. She was quite comfortable.

He certainly was a dangerous man, but he had already let down his guard with her. Still, what would he do when he found out who she was?

Ivy chose this moment to walk into the security room. Zack had asked her to find Kidman for him; there was something he forgot to say. She was stunned by what she found.

"Lee! Get away from her, _now_!"

Lee jerked around and placed his hand on Kidman's shoulder behind him.

"I said, _hands off!"_

"What the _f*ck_ do you _want_!"

"Step away from her..."

"I'm not doing anything-"

"Just move away."

Ivy looked as if she was about to high-kick him in a most unfriendly place for a male. "Just get out! Out!"

"Fine..." Lee muttered, adding "bitch" quietly under his breath.

Lee left the room, but hid right outside the door. 'What is she so testy about today?'

Ivy rushed over to a slightly puzzled and secretly disappointed Kidman.

"Are you okay? What did he do to you?"

"Nothing, I..."

"If he thinks he's going to hurt you just because you're Kidman..."

"Ivy..." Again, no one could hear her speak, except Lee, who was paying special attention to her words.

"Why don't you ever call for help? He can kill you, you know."

"Yes, I..."

"Kidman! Honestly, I just don't know..."

The conversation continued on, but Lee had the piece of information he wanted, the child's name. He went off to see just what there was to be known about this strange little girl.

* * *

*.*.*.*.*

7:15 pm, Saint Carlo's Cafe, San Francisco.

Lee drove out five blocks west of the Acme building to his favorite crash spot. He never liked doing any form of work in the sterile surroundings of the updated agency. He much more preferred a social atmosphere. He didn't feel he had much privacy, certain that most of the security cameras had been rerouted to watch his movements rather than their regular spots.

He pulled his old, brown Volkswagen station wagon into the parking lot and pulled his laptop out of the front seat. He gave a slight wave to Carlos, the owner and keeper of the beer, and made towards his favorite two-seat by the bay. The sun was just beginning to set, but already a stiff cool breeze came at him from across the bay. This was the time Lee liked; this was when the day truly began.

After ordering his usual Corona and a taco, he set up his command center on the clear plastic table. Lee switched on his laptop, adjusted the cable to his cellular phone, then turned away as it took its sweet time booting up. The Pentium 75 could just barely handle all the software Lee had installed on it, so he knew it would be a good five minutes before he could actually do anything. Instead he turned his chair towards the setting sun across the bay.

'Damn, what a life.'

He had been born in Philadelphia, a true Philly kid. He was the oldest of three, having two younger sisters. His parents got along well enough, but their relationship fell apart after Phoebe, his youngest sister, died suddenly of brain cancer. It had developed over a week and she was gone before anyone knew what happened.

Lee had been fifteen, she had been nine. He never got along with his other sister, Marie. She disgusted Lee in her constant calls for attention from her parents as a spoiled brat, her teachers as a bully, and from men as a slut. When she was sixteen she ran away from home with one of her drunkard boyfriends and moved to his hometown in Kentucky. When he left her, the family never heard from her again, save for a postcard from time to time. She was a waitress at a truck stop diner.

Lee's relationship with his parents was never as he wished it to be, either. He hadn't been beaten and his father wasn't a drunken bastard like _his_ father, but still, he was a far shot from the model father. They weren't well off, but not poor, either. They had a TV and new clothes, but money was tight and stress levels in the house always ran high. His father held down two jobs; one as a salesperson for a large corporate complex that created appliances, the other a manager of a small drugstore. His mother didn't work. She was submissive to his father, always doting over Marie. Phoebe got some attention from her father, Lee from no one.

Lee's academic achievements generally went unnoticed. His joining extracurricular activities had never been explored. Usually he spent his time in his room, reading books and bouncing a tennis ball off his wall until he bored of it or his father threatened to kill him.

Phoebe had been the one thing keeping him from giving up. She sat in his room with him after school and watched over his shoulder as he did his work. When the two were younger they'd play basketball in the old lot behind the school, or he'd take her to a movie. She had been full of pep, feisty, yet strangely wise beyond her years. She always believed in him as a big brother, always ran to him when Marie threatened to hurt her, always fought with their father when he got to carried away with his threats to Lee about what a worthless kid he was. She was his hero.

The school system was what stepped in and gave Lee the opportunity to go to the West coast to become a detective. After an incident at the school involving stolen money from the library's funds that Lee solved by himself, the school went to his parents about a career in the investigation field. His parents were unmoved until they received the letter from Acme requesting he try out for a position. The airfare was free.

Lee wasn't exactly sure he wanted this, but Phoebe convinced him to take it. And it worked out. Few people at the agency remembered what Lee had been like before his sister died. Most didn't notice him. He usually kept to himself and his sister, not blending with the social scene well. It was a dream come true, though. Lee had the time of his life at Acme, and found a passion for the job. He was even liked in the very small circles he kept.

A month later, it ended.

Lee's world came crashing down as Phoebe slipped away from him. He almost missed being by her deathbed, being way laid by a job in the Philippines. He cried. He cried out of anger of being robbed his only friend, of being tossed out so rudely into the cold. He was angry at Marie for not being there when Phoebe died; off having sex with some guy in a bar. He was angry that his father turned to drinking and eventually left his mother to somehow pay the bills by herself. He sent her half his paycheck until she got a job as a secretary, but some disparaging words about his father to his mother had set off a furious argument that had yet to be resolved.

One sister dead, one sister estranged, one drunken father living in the middle of Oregon, and one frozen mother in Philadelphia. Lee fell into a slump. He let no one console him on his losses. He didn't want their pity. They all had nice families, sisters, friends, pets.

Lee became bitter and spiteful, perversely enjoying other's hardships. With that bitterness came cockiness, no longer caring what people thought, that they didn't know how he felt, that they were all weak and beneath him. He despised them all for living so well. Eventually, he shared a common contempt for everyone. He became more self-centered and outlandish to cover up the pain. His job was his life, nothing more, nothing less.

He now had no one to tell him that he was worth something, so he put more effort into becoming the best in his field. Every case was a brutal struggle for respect from the world that turned its back on him. When he didn't get the fanfare he believed he deserved, he supplied it himself. In one short month, Lee metamorphosed into something unbearable.

Lee stopped and looked at the fading sun.

'I still am.' He thought with a sad smile.

Eventually the friction between himself and the detectives had grown to be too much and he bailed ship, hopping over to a life of crime with his former opponent, Carmen, who in turn, kicked him out for acting like an ass. Blinded by rage, Lee avenged himself on Carmen by holding her hostage while he attempted to rob the US mint. It had proven costly. He was apprehended and thrown into prison.

Lee let out a sigh. 'Ah, prison.'

Prison had been a bucket of cold water on the head for him. His runaway train act had been brought to a crashing halt as he battled one inmate to the next. He suddenly found himself fighting for his life against huge power-lifters. Compared to them, he was as thin and weak as a beanpole. But a new feeling of violence emerged, and within two weeks became vicious enough to tangle with the best of them. He swore on Phoebe's soul that he would be nobody's bitch.

Strong as he was, Lee knew he couldn't last in there forever. His cell-mate wasn't bad, a guy named Chico who was in for stabbing a store cashier in a botched robbery. He was slightly larger than Lee, but other than shouting obscenities and pushing him around from time to time, he wasn't a real problem.

It was a small band of men at the recreation grounds that he feared. Lee began to specialize in hiding himself when more than two of them were together. Most of the time this worked, but one time he hadn't been so lucky.

Lee finished the last of his taco and washed it down with his beer. He turned back to see how the computer was faring. It had cleared the first three stages, only two more to go.

'Damn this computer.'

The air was getting colder and Lee pulled his leather jacket closer to him.' The good thing about leather', he told himself, 'is that once it gets warm, it stays warm.'

He turned his chair back to the water and ate the remainder of his nachos. The wind picked up and pulled at his unkempt swirls of hair. The computer lit up the table through the dusky darkness.

Lee shifted his thoughts back to his ordeal in prison, remembering it with blurred yet perfect clarity.

He had been standing by a poker game, wanting to see the outcome of just one more hand. He knew he should be watching out for the five men that usually tailed him for money that he didn't owe. It really didn't matter to them whether he did or not, they just wanted the money. All five where body builders. They all looked like they had been truck drivers at one point. All but one had tattoos up and down their arms; the last making up for it with multiple piercing. Three had ample stomachs, the two others where muscular. All were twice Lee's size. He could barely remember their names, but two he knew for sure.

The ringleader, the tattooed, big-bellied blond-bearded biker's name was Bubba, his larger, dumber sidekick, was Tiny. The others had names like Snake, Nails, Death, and the sort, but Lee had never bothered to find out exactly who was what. It didn't matter. All that did was that he was their perpetual target, and on this day, Lee was not paying attention. He finally turned around, but it was too late.

Bubba was right in front of him.

He grabbed Lee by the shoulders and slammed him against the concrete wall.

"Hey, Boy, where's my money?"

"Get the f*ck off me, bastard. I don't have your godamned money. Where the hell am I going to get it from?"

"Pull it outa your ass, I don't give a crap. Seeing as you don't have it..."

Bubba smashed Lee across the face. Lee was stunned, but got over it quickly. He pushed off Bubba's stomach with his leg and freed himself. But it was only momentary. Bubba threw a punch into his stomach. As Lee doubled over in pain, he felt a crashing blow come down on his back from Tiny.

The other inmates, who had been waiting for this fight for a long time, gathered around the fight zone. Lee dragged himself to his knees and ducked a blow coming from Snake's direction, Death catching it in the shin. After Death smashed Snake, he kicked Lee's legs out from under him as Bubba kicked him in the head.

'I have to fight back. Phoebe, God, help me...'

Lee felt a surge of strength. He grabbed Nails' leg as it came at him and pulled him over. Lost in momentum, Nails went flying into Tiny, who was about to give him a 300lb drop. Snake pulled him to his feet and took another swing. Lee blocked with his arm and was surprised to hear the sound of splintering wood. He would later find it had been his bone. At the time he didn't feel the pain. He rallied and drove one home into Snake's crotch. Two were down now, but three was more than enough to kill him, and he knew that was the intent. He searched the inmates' jeering faces frantically for help but got no response.

'I don't want to die here...to these motherf*ckers...Phoebe...'

Suddenly he saw an abandoned lunch tray with a small butter-knife on it. Breaking free, Lee grabbed the knife, threatening anyone who came near. Bubba walked up to the bloody man as if he was holding a bouquet of flowers.

"Hand it over, Boy."

"F*ck you."

"I _said_ hand it over!"

Lee slashed Bubba's shoulder as hard as he could. Bubba let forth a scream that shook the walls.

"Kill that bastard!"

Death was the only one still reasonably in the game, the others either unconscious or in to much pain to care. He walked over in slow motion.

"Prepare to meet your end, Boy."

Death picked up a billiard stick and tried to ram Lee with it, but Lee twisted away and the stick hit the still swearing Bubba, sending him over the card table. Death tried again, this time catching Lee full in the side. Sprawled out on the floor and barely conscious, Lee had a horrifying thought.

'No one is coming to my funeral. No one...'

Lee slipped out into blackness. The guards finally decided to break up the fight, seeing as the match was over and there was nothing more to watch. They didn't want it on their record that a man died while they cheered on his oppressors. Before they got to Death, Death rammed Lee's body with the stick a few times and gave him a solid slash on the leg and the eye.

Both scars were still there.

After that, Lee had been moved to solitary confinement to keep him out of trouble while he recuperated and spent his time ratting out fellow cellmates to gain him his freedom. He had even written that letter to Acme about what a changed man he was. They had bought it, and seven weeks later he had returned to Acme once more. He was no longer an anguished, egotistical jerk. Now he was much quieter, more brooding, and more violent in his language than before. He told no one of his ordeal in jail. He knew they would all enjoy it too much.

He no longer took crap from anyone. He was much stronger than before. To the men in the rec room, though Lee had been defeated, he had beaten four of the five by himself. He had respect. He was feared. He no longer had to search for it from others. His feelings toward Carmen matured into hatred as he tried to find new work. He had never stopped to think about how easily she could block him from many of the better positions in the underworld. Not only had she gotten him thrown in prison, she had put a damper on his criminal career. Deep inside Lee knew that he had brought it upon himself, but he would never admit it to anyone, even himself.

As for his search to be a hitman, Lee found a new need for power and control over others after the fight. He wanted to have the power to end their lives like they had had to end his. It was beginning to dawn on him that joining a syndicate was not such a good idea. He decided then and there that as soon as he was ready, he would meet up with a man he knew in the field and would learn the art of selective murder for himself.

The computer finally got to where it should be and Lee punched some keys, quickly gaining access to the central roster.

"Letsee little Kidman...just who are you. Hmmm...nothing."

The roster showed no Kidmans as hired detectives.

He tried searching a different list, and then another.

'What _are_ you?'

Lee finally ran a complete search of the files until he found her, listed under...prisoner?

Lee stared at the screen. He clicked under her name and found a small page devoted to the silent child, but the only thing he could see was her extended name;

Kid Kidman-Sandiego.

* * *

*.*.*.*.*

Kidman sat in the TV room, alone. She usually had someone else in there with her, watching late night TV, but no one was around, and the girl felt deserted. She was avoiding most of the detectives as it was. Zack's flirtations with her began to upset her, especially as she could not seem to get across _why_ she was not interested, mostly because she didn't know herself.

Most of the others where so gung-ho about locking her beloved mother away in a cage by herself or with someone of violent personage that it caused her to be ill. Even Ivy, who was part of the Trinity, was not making things better by blatantly defying every last belief and perspective that the girl owned without mercy.

So Kidman hid.

She still was wary about the one called Lee, although to her he was the most interesting one there besides the Chief.

Yet Lee wasn't here and the night was slipping by without her. She felt the urge to go somewhere, do something. When she was with Carmen there was never a night left untouched, but now...

Kidman sighed and walked out of the room and down the hall. She passed the main room where a group of detectives she generally didn't care for were talking about the pain they had put a harmless henchman through. Kidman didn't think it was humorous. She didn't see how it could be, but passed it off as being an acquired taste people have. She walked away from the laughter towards her room. The hall was dark and cold, and it appealed to her. She opened the bolts on her door and set her papers down on the table beside it. The room seemed colder than it should, as if the window had been left open.

Kidman flicked on the lights.

Lee was lying on her bed, his back propped up against the wall.

"Surprise, surprise!" Lee said softly, smiling a devilish grin.

Kidman was startled, but her daily life was so overrun with sudden horror and surprise twists that her sense of shock had fallen away long ago. She looked at him blankly.

"Your purpose…?"

"So proper! Well, well, I found out your little secret."

"Would be?"

"Your name. Sandiego. You're the kid. You led me on." Lee's words were softly spoken, his smile still humorous.

Kidman cocked her head. "Indeed, and not. You never asked me of my name."

Lee rose from the bed. "What are we going to do now, Kidman?"

"Our options?"

"Do you _ever_ speak in full sentences? Ever?"

"No. It is an...unnecessary thing..."

Lee looked at her. This was Carmen's daughter? Carmen adopted _this_? This isn't a Carmen! Where is the arrogance, the superiority complex, the...the..._Carmen_? No, this wasn't what he had expected the Sandiego to be. Should he continue on his warpath, or stop and change course? He needed to see what she would do when he said he knew her lineage. She hadn't reacted right at all. No, she was just standing there; examining him as if he had just told her is was windy in San Francisco. Was it bravado? No, it was something weirder, almost amusingly so.

It suddenly occurred to him that she was the only person here at Acme that he didn't feel compelled to hate.

He took another look at her. She seemed to be preoccupied with something else, some clothes on the floor.

He smiled.

'She could care less! She could just care less! I think I'll keep it that way.'


End file.
